


It Devours

by Buffyworldbuilder



Series: Atonements and Fresh Starts [13]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26494201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buffyworldbuilder/pseuds/Buffyworldbuilder
Summary: This sequel follows "From Beneath" and is the final installment in the series that began with "A Brother's Love" and wraps up the storylines concerning the nuclear war Warren's robot started and all the plans of the First. It also brings in all the characters from all previous stories as well as some new X-Men characters. At least one character death in this one.As I hinted previously, I am bringing the X-Men into the series in this story.  I also am bringing in a new character from the X-Men world that is in comics and video games named Irene Adler called Destiny. She is not an X-Men as she is a villain character, but she is a blind precog. As the X-Men movies are so convoluted, I figured it was okay to bring in someone new for one chapter. In the comics, she was a lover of Raven/Mystique. In my mind, the first X-Men movie has happened but not the second, which means Faith's newly created brother John, Pyro, has not joined Magneto. However, Nightcrawler is with the X-Men.
Series: Atonements and Fresh Starts [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766362
Comments: 12
Kudos: 14





	1. Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Assume that the there is a few days between the final two scenes in my last story "From Beneath Me." 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Comics or characters or any of Joss Whedon's characters.

_*****Mississippi******_

"Damn it," Irene mumbled. The dream came again. The world was destroyed as fire rained down. She wrote it in her book of prophecy. It was like the last four. America launched nuclear bombs on China and Russia, who retaliated, wiping out all major cities in an instant.

She fell back to sleep and dreamed again. This time she saw a very famous face enter the Pentagon, and she knew what she had to do.

This was not just a prophecy that she could write down and put in her book and set it aside. This one must be stopped—someone had to do that.

Not bothering to check the time, she reached for her phone and pushed one on her speed dial.

"It's four in the morning."

"I miss you, too," Irene said.

"Irene? Is that you? Are you okay?"

"Yes, Raven. I'm fine. I just need you to use your X-Men connections to save the world," she said.

"You're kidding," she said.

"No, actually, I'm not. I've had a prophecy. One that will happen in a week. Nuclear war that we start—except it's not actually the President who does it," Irene said.

"What do you mean?" Raven said. She explained about her dreams, and her lover knew that her dreams were never wrong.

Irene was born blind, but she was a precog, often referred to be her mutant name Destiny. Raven, known by the X-Men as Mystique, realized immediately that she would probably have to share this with Eric. "I think I know how to stop it," she said. Yet she hesitated to share it with Eric because she had never told him about Irene. Irene wasn't a weapon that she ever wanted Eric to exploit.

"I figured you might," Irene said. "When are you going to come home?"

"Soon," Raven said.

"Do you still love me?" Irene asked.

"Of course," Raven said. "I will call you after it's done."

"Please do," Irene said. She hung up, glad to have passed it off to Raven's capable hands.

Raven, though, was dreading telling Eric about her lover's gift. He would not understand why such a weapon was being kept out of his hands. Maybe, it would be better if she didn't tell Eric. She could contact Logan herself.

Several hours later, she found him at a diner near the school. For this rare occasion, she was dressed as herself—the face she had before her mutant gene kicked in. It wasn't a face she had shown to Logan before, but she needed him to believe her. If she thought she could fool the Professor, she'd pose as just another mutant with the gift of prophecy.

"Logan," she said, getting his attention.

He looked up from his coffee. "Do I know you?" he asked. He looked at the attractive blonde curiously. Sniffing, he realized something about her seemed familiar.

"No need to sniff me like a dog, Logan. It's me. Raven—Mystique," she said. When he looked alarmed and looked for others, she held up her hand. "Do you think I'd show you my original form if I was trying to start a fight? I'm here because I have some truly horrible news that only your Professor can help with. I don't want Eric to know about it."

Logan looked at her intently, trying to figure out her angle. She was incredibly loyal to Magneto, but she was also brilliant in her own right. "What's going on?" he said.

"I have a friend—a very close friend. One who I trust with my life," Raven said. "She has never met Eric, and I would rather she not."

That alone was very interesting to Logan. "Go on," he encouraged.

"My friend is a mutant that can see the future. Her visions are never wrong—not ever," Raven said, looking grim and very serious.

Logan didn't think she would be wasting her time if she didn't believe that it was real, so he listened to what she had to say.

"You're not shitting me?" he asked when she stopped talking.

"You think I'd come all the way here just to mess with you?" she asked, annoyed. "The Professor is the only mutant I know that can freeze time for even a moment. Somehow, Pepper Potts or a mutant with her face or someone disguised as her is going to go into the Pentagon and release atomic bombs. As soon as she sets foot in the building the war begins. Irene didn't know exactly how she did it, but she saw the result over and over. We hit China and Russian, and they hit us. The fallout destroys the world. It can't be allowed to happen."

"You know the professor doesn't actually freeze time. He just freezes the mind, so it appears that way. But what's your theory?" Logan asked.

"Either Pepper Potts is mind controlled, or Tony Stark uses her as a decoy to slip a bug in," Raven speculated.

"That's what you think?"

"Well, Tony would never do anything like that unless they were using his lover as leverage or something," Raven said.

"Or it might not be her at all. It's possible there are other mutants like you," Logan said.

"That's true," Raven said.

"So we have the exact date and time when the bad guy is going to do a very bad thing—that never happens," he said in bemusement.

"Logan, I swear to you, it will happen unless you get your people to stop it," Raven said.

"Okay," Logan said. "I will make sure we are there to stop it."

"You believe me?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter if I do or not," he said with a shrug. "I'm not risking the world either way. If you're lying, we wasted an afternoon. If you're telling the truth, we've saved the world. Easy choice for me to make."

"I hope the Professor will feel the same way," she said.

Logan nodded. "He will," Logan said. He got up and took some money out of his pocket, throwing it on the table. "Thanks for the tip. I'll be seeing you."

Raven watched him walk away, relieved. She pulled out her phone and called Irene. "I think it's going to be okay. I told the X-Men. They'll stop it," she said.

"Thank God!" Irene said, relieved. "Will you wait it out with me?"

"I will," Raven said. "See you soon." She had faith that her mutant adversaries would stop Irene's visions, but if she was wrong, she wanted the end to come with someone that really needed her. Eric cared about her powers, but Raven didn't think if the world was ending, he would even look to see where she was.

Her phone rang. "Where are you?" Eric asked.

"I'm out of town," she said. "The power outages got me stranded for a bit."

"But you are unharmed?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"That is good," Eric said. "I spoke to Charles. He said that it was not a mutant behind this."

"Good," she said. "Does he know what caused it?"

"He thinks it was an attack of some kind on the Avengers," Eric said with a snort. So far, he hadn't challenged those do-gooders as they did treat mutants with respect.

"I have a friend in Mississippi that I want to go check on—she's blind and lives alone," Raven said. "I'll call you when I get there."

"Be careful. If another plane falls out of the sky and I'm not with you, you could get hurt," he pointed out.

"I will be," she said, a bit surprised at his concern. "Goodbye."

_******Two Days Later******_

Tony and Willow had gone through all of Warren's files and knew that he had created a robot. They had specs of one, but they did not have an ID.

"He looked entirely too smug when he was arrested," Tony said. "He's got this robot out there planning more destruction. I just got my system back online. If you hadn't put those safeguards on Ultron, I don't know what damage he might have done. I was so stupid. Buffy told me not to trust him. She fights evil—I should've listened!"

"Hey, let's not waste time with the blame game," Willow said. "Let's celebrate that I was able to pull JARVIS back from the abyss. Your doctor friend has that body to download him into, right?"

Tony nodded. "Yea. Dr. Cho's going to let me have it. I still think we should just use the stone for Loki's scepter to power the body," he said.

"We don't know enough about that stone. We just know it can mind control people and that its power is infinite," Willow said. "We don't need JARVIS to have that kind of power. You'll power the body with a mini-reactor, and I will put a soul in him. He will be alive. This way he'll never be in one place to be destroyed like that."

"Did Pepper say it was okay for you to make a baby with another woman?" Bruce asked with a smirk.

Willow's mouth fell open, and her face flushed. "What?"

Tony laughed. "Yes, smart-ass, she did," he said. "If it was anyone but Willow, she might be a bit jealous."

All of a sudden, the room went dark. Then strangers were there—a bald guy in a wheelchair with two guys and two women. Then Tony noticed the blue man with a tail and finally blinked.

"I don't think you have an appointment," Tony said, looking at Bruce in concern. "Relax, Big Guy."

"We mean you no harm," the bald guy said.

"How did you do that?" Willow asked with interest. "I didn't feel any magical disturbance."

"Magic?" the guy with the long sideburns scoffed. "We're not a circus act."

"My friend, Kurt, can teleport," the bald guy said, gesturing to the little guy with the tail. He must be an inhuman. "Forgive our intrusion. I am Professor Charles Xavier. I run a school for gifted mutants and train them to be X-Men, who help contain mutants, who abuse their powers to hurt others."

"That's really cool!" Willow said excitedly. "I have so many questions."

"We have tons, but no time now, Will," Tony said. "We're in the middle of a little crisis."

"I believe I can help you with that," the Professor said. "This is my team. Logan, Jean, Scott, Kurt, and Ororo. We know a mutant, who is a precog. Her visions are never wrong." They had decided the only way to get their plan to work was to get Tony Stark on board. He had the power and influence to get them in the Pentagon without weapons drawn. Charles was not about to risk the world on the word of a mutant he had never met, so he wanted to stake out the Pentagon a few days before and after the time to be safe. He told Tony about the vision. Charles was pleasantly surprised that Tony took his words seriously and listened without interruption.

"My Pepper would never do such a thing, but—" he paused and glanced at Willow, who nodded. "I think we know what's happened. I had this weasel of an employee, Warren, who was the one who knocked out the power—he thinks he's a supervillain. He's got a gift for creating robots that look entirely human."

"He's from my hometown," Willow said. "He made one of my best friend Buffy that looked exactly like her."

"We just discovered specs of a new robot, but we didn't have an ID," Tony said. "If he made it to look like Pepper, that really helps us. Pepper is going to want to kill him, though."

"She's going to want to kill you," Willow said with a smirk. "I'm Willow, by the way. I work with Tony."

Charles through his thoughts into the woman's mind. _Are you a mutant?_

Willow shook her head. _No, I'm not._ "No, I'm not a mutant," she said. "I'm a witch."

Charles wasn't so sure about that since she so easily throw her thoughts back to him.

Logan snorted in disbelief while the little blue guy's eyes got wide, and he clung to Storm in fear.

"A good one—I won't hurt you," she said to the little blue guy. She was kind of cute.

"Yea, well, Bruce and I are scientists. How do you think we feel?" Tony said. "The woman does the impossible all the time. But her blood doesn't have any mutant gene—believe me, I have checked. She grew up on a hellmouth—the one in Sunnydale, California."

Charles smiled in realization. "You know Faith," he said.

Willow looked surprised and nodded. "Yes," she said. "How do you know Faith?"

"Faith is the current guardian of the hellmouth is she not?" Charles asked.

"Yes," Willow asked. "How do you know that?" She looked at Tony, who shrugged.

"Her brother John is a student at my school," he said.

Logan looked surprised. "Pyro knows about witches?" he asked.

"He did tell you that he was going to get his sister to come kick your ass if you mocked him one more time," Jean said dryly.

"Is she a witch?" Logan asked.

"No, Faith's a vampire slayer," Willow said.

Logan looked surprised. "Vampires are real?" he asked.

"You really need to listen to the students more, Logan," Scott said with a smirk.

Logan grinned. "I keep telling the Professor that I'm no teacher, but he don't listen so good," Logan said.

"So all of you are mutants?" Bruce asked. They all nodded. "Do you mind telling us what you can do? It will help us figure out a plan."

"Logan has indestructible adamantium metal claws," Charles said. Logan showed them off, causing Willow to wince.

"Doesn't that hurt?" she asked.

"I have this insane healing ability," he said. "I heal instantly."

"Does that metal go all the way through your body?" Tony wondered.

Logan nodded. "It does. It makes me useless when fighting Magneto, who's a mutant that can move metal," he said. "He's a bad mutant, who thinks mutants should rule humans."

Tony winced. "I better not meet that guy either," he said.

"Jean and I are both very powerful telepaths," Charles said. "However, she also has telekinetic powers while I can freeze a person's perception of time, or rather control their mind to such a degree that appears as if time is frozen, which is what we can do to stop the Pepper robot when we spot her."

"You can freeze time? That's awesome!" Willow said.

"Cyclops here basically can shoot laser beams from his eyes," Logan said. "Storm can control the weather."

"Like Thor?" Tony asked.

"I suppose," she said softly. "I don't need a hammer, though, to do so."

"I have so many questions," Willow said.

"Later, Will," Tony said. "Let's get to planning."

They did just that. Rhodey was brought it and was properly horrified at the latest threat, insisting on meeting this precog. When the X-Men wouldn't produce it, things got testy.

"Look," Logan said. "The mutant who gets the visions is not one of ours. In fact, this vision came from our enemy, but she was very terrified. She came to me because she knew that I wouldn't risk the fate of the world on not believing the source."

"Has this enemy ever lied to you before?" Rhodey asked.

"Well, Mystique is a shapeshifter, so it's her nature to be duplicitous," Charles said. "However, she didn't tell Eric about it because she cares about this mutant and doesn't want him to know about her abilities. That tells us that the source is real. She is his most trusted soldier—his right hand."

Tony nodded. "That's good enough for me. I wouldn't risk it either way anyway, especially since it's my employee that unleashed all this to begin with," he said. "Ultimately, I'm the only one responsible."

"Where's this employee?" Jean Gray asked. "I can read his mind."

"That's probably a good idea. We need to know if he's got any other surprises for us," Willow said.

"I'll see if we can get some face time with him," Rhodey said, pulling out his phone.

Logan was just glad that the most visible Avenger wasn't the asshole so many said he was. The world might just keep spinning after all.

***** _Ohio*****_

When Xander finally got off the phone with Willow his head was spinning. So many things going on. Buffy wanted to foster that poor kid Savannah that lost her mom, and Willow wanted him to convince her what a bad idea it was due to the First gunning for all of them. Five potentials had been assassinated already. Willow didn't have the time to call her right now as her and Tony were trying to figure out what else Warren has set in motion—he looked too smug when he was arrested. Xander hadn't gotten a chance to discuss his feelings about Cordelia being pregnant due to all the stuff she'd said about Warren, robots, and nuclear war visions. He rubbed his eye, glad he hadn't gotten that particular vision. Since Giles had gotten word of five deaths of potential slayers, the Watcher's Council was on high alert. Something was targeting them like never before.

" _From beneath you it devours."_

Odin had said that months before they began getting visions of dead people saying the same words. Was it connected?

All he wanted to really think about was the fact that he was going to be a father, but it was not Anya who would be the mother. Guilt filled him as he drifted off to sleep.

The All-Father came to him in his sleep. They were in a beautiful garden with a waterfall in the near distance. Odin was sitting on a bench, petting a wolf. Xander eyed the wolf warily.

"Uh, is this a dream or one of those All-Father visions?" he asked. "Can that wolf tear my throat out?"

"This is Geri. His mate Freki is nearby," Odin said. "I am considering sending them to Earth to guard you and Cordelia. Although I have another there to protect you, these would be closer."

"I'm not sure I could care for wolves," Xander said. "I live in an apartment."

Odin smiled. "They would not need you to care for them," he said. "They would be a part of you and come out only when you had need of them."

"Well, okay," Xander said. "I guess you know about the baby."

Odin smiled. "I do. Congratulations. Frigga and I are very excited for you and Cordelia. You know that she spent time in Asgard with us. We are very fond of her."

Xander flashed a bitter look. "Guess she's more fitting than Anya, huh?"

Odin sighed. "Alexander, I did not cause Anya to die. It was her time. There were so many threats around her that it mattered not what path you chose—she would have died within two years in one fashion or another," he said. "She would've died in the final battle in Sunnydale had you not left."

"Really?" Xander asked in surprise.

Odin nodded. "Yes," he said. "She had lived a very long time, so there is no reason for this bitterness. It is time for you to let it go. It is time for you to let _her_ go."

"She's not even been gone six months," Xander said. "Now I've knocked up my first love. It's just not right."

Odin was silent as he watched Xander pick up a pebble and throw it into the pool of water. "Alexander, your guilt is misplaced. Cordelia is someone you have always loved. She is someone who you never entirely let go of—someone you hurt years ago and felt a deep shame over that hurt."

Xander turned. "How do you know that?" he asked. "Can you read my mind?"

"Not exactly, but I have forged a tie with you. It allows me to know you in a way I do not know others," he said. "She is not a stranger you picked up at a bar like humans often do."

"It would be easier if she was," Xander said. "That's why I feel so guilty. I feel like I moved on already. I know that I love Cordy—I've always loved Cordy. She is a part of me in a way that Anya never quite was—that's part of the problem. Growing up, I hated her because she was so mean, and then I was in lust with her, and then just as I was completely in love with her, I broke her heart over some insane fluke with Willow. We were over before we ever grew up and knew if we could really be anything. Now I've gotten her pregnant in a drunken hook up. If we were going to get back together, it shouldn't have happened like that. Now I've ruined whatever we could ever have again."

"That is not true," Odin said. "She is not entirely human. Just as you are not entirely human any longer. You have many years to work out how you feel about one another."

"So you're saying I shouldn't worry so much?" Xander said, a half-smile on his face.

Odin put his hand on Xander's shoulder. "Your son will be a great blessing to you as my sons have been to me," he said.

"A son? It's a boy? How do you know that?" Xander asked.

Odin smiled. "Your slayer Buffy has awakened an old enemy," he said, not answering the question.

"The First? Keeps showing up as dead people? You said he was an old fallen celestial or calls himself the First Evil, but he's just a big fat liar," Xander said.

Odin nodded. "If you allow him to empower his disciple, he will kill many young girls," Odin said. "Even now, many have already died."

"Giles said five potentials have been killed," Xander said.

"There's a chance, though, to end his plans before he really begins," Odin said. "I do not want your child to be endangered, so I am interfering where I would normally not."

"Really?" Xander asked. "How?"

"My son has the ability to help, and your friend Angel has a weapon he knows not he has that can help close the hellmouth permanently," Odin said.

"Thor? Thor's going to help?" Xander said.

Odin shook his head. "No, he would not be much good against an enemy such as this. Loki. He will aid you," Odin said.

"Isn't he an enemy of humanity?" Xander asked. "I mean, I know Tara loves him and all."

"He has much changed because of her love," Odin said. "Even now, he is helping humans."

"He is on Earth?" Xander asked.

Odin nodded. "He is," Odin said. "When the time is right, he will step in and help defeat this evil you and your friends face."

"Are you sure he can be trusted?" Xander asked.

Odin was silent. "No. However, I trust that he cares for Tara and Cordelia. He would not allow anyone to harm either of them—I know that," he said.

"Cordy? I didn't realize she knew him," Xander said, not sure how he felt about that.

"Fear not," Odin said. "My wolves will protect you and your unborn child, and my son will aid you in your final battle with the evil you face."

"Okay," Xander said. "Thanks." Another very large wolf appeared, staring intently at him.

"Ah, there is Freki," Odin said, smiling at the wolf. "It's time."

Xander woke up in bed with the sun streaming in his room. _That was different._

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, wondering how much of the dream was real. When he got out of the shower, he wiped the steam from the mirror. Then he blinked as he saw a tattoo on his left pec. Wiping the mirror some more, he peered closer to it.

"Woe!" he exclaimed. It was a wolf. He had a tattoo of a freakin' wolf on his chest that was _not_ there last night.

He thought about his dream and what the All-Father said. Closing his eyes, he called out to Odin. " _All-Father. Why do I have a tattoo of a wolf that I didn't have last night? Is that you?"_

" _It is," Odin replied. "It is Geri, your new protector. He will come out only if you are in danger."_

" _What about his mate?"_ Xander _asked, wondering about the other._

" _She will protect your baby," Odin said._

Xander's eyes widened as he realized what that meant.

Cordelia was going to kill him.

****** _Chapter End*****_

_Although the wolves are a part of Odin's comic lore, I got the idea of wolf protector tattoos from my favorite writer Christine Feehan in her Dark series. I saw an opportunity to use it, and I hope it fits. I would love a review. Did you enjoy seeing the X-Men? Thanks for reading!_


	2. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I honestly thought I had posted this chapter weeks ago! Enjoy the update!

_*****Where We Left Off Mostly*****_

Buffy woke up to a loud shriek. Then she heard a “Why do these things always happen to me?” bellow.

Bucky tightened his arms around her. “I think Cordelia needs you,” he murmured.

She groaned. Last night, they had finally made time to be together, and it had been perfect. Child protective services insisted on taking Savannah at the hospital, saying she had to go through the foster care application process, which could take weeks. Buffy didn’t want to wait weeks, and she was going to call Clint and see if he could help her move the process along with his contacts. Pepper did such an incredible job getting money from the Council. Could she help with this? Buffy was going to find out as she was not going to allow the poor girl to be with strangers for weeks.

“Buffy!” Cordelia called.

“You better go see what’s wrong,” Bucky said, reaching out and turning on the lamp.

Buffy pouted. “She better be throwing up or something,” she grumbled as she got out of bed. She threw on a t-shirt and pulled up a pair of shorts before opening the bedroom door. Cordelia had her own apartment, but sometimes she stayed at Buffy’s.

“What’s going on?” she asked as Cordelia came running out of her bedroom.

“Look! I have a freakin’ tattoo on my chest! How the hell did that happen?” she asked. She was wearing a silk negligée, and it was easy for Buffy to see her chest. Right over, her heart was a tattoo of a large wolf.

“You got a wolf tattoo?” Buffy asked in surprise.

“No, I didn’t get a wolf tattoo! Why the hell would I get a wolf tattoo?” Cordelia asked. “That’s the problem. I went to bed without one and woke up _with_ one.”

“Freaky,” Buffy said, looking at it. “It’s kind of cool, though.”

“No, it is not cool! It’s gotta be some bad omen or something because I’m cursed!” Cordelia exclaimed. “You don’t go to sleep and wake up with a freakin’ tattoo!”

“Well, let Wes consult his books and see if it’s a sign of something,” she said.

“That’s a good idea,” Cordelia said. “I’ll let Xander know and then go show it to Wes.”

“Is everything okay?” Bucky asked from the bedroom door.

Cordelia took in his shirtless state and smirked at Buffy. “I woke up with some mystical tat,” Cordelia said. “But it’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me.”

“Let me know if you find out anything,” Buffy said.

When Bucky went back inside Buffy’s room, Cordelia grinned at her. “You are so going to give me all the details later!” she ordered.

Buffy’s face said it all, and Cordy was very happy for her friend as she went back to the guest room to dress.

Buffy shut her bedroom door as Bucky was back on her bed. “What do you think that’s about?” he asked.

Buffy shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “But Cordy’s woken up nine months pregnant before after not being pregnant the night before, so she’s not lying when she says it’s not the worst thing that’s happened to her. I just hope it’s not like Giles’ evil tattoo that caused a demon to jump inside the wearer.”

Bucky’s eyes got wide. “Seriously?” he asked.

Buffy nodded. “Yea, but I have never heard of any demon wolf clans, so it’s probably not that. Wes will figure it out,” she said. She leaned over him, putting her lips against his chest. “I think we can sneak in a little more fun before her histrionics interrupt us again. She’s going to go bother the guys.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, smiling down at her.

“Very,” she said, her lips moving downward.

Bucky closed his eyes when her hand reached below his underwear.

A half hour later, Cordelia showed Wesley her tattoo, and he took a photo, promising to do some research. Then she knocked on Xander’s door.

“Xander, get your ass out here! You won’t believe what’s happened to me!” she said, stepping inside without an invitation.

“You woke up with a wolf tattoo like this,” he said, lifting up his shirt and showing her his.

Cordelia moved closer and saw it was in the exact spot that his was. Narrowing her eyes, she looked at him with suspicion. “You better spill before I bring on the pain,” she threatened.

He held up his hand in surrender. “Hey, it’s not my fault! It’s a gift from the All-Father,” he said.

“So it’s not an evil tattoo?” she asked, feeling relieved.

“No, it’s not,” he said.

“Well, I’ll let Wesley know he can call off the book searching, and then you cook me and your baby breakfast,” she said. “Where’s your phone? I didn’t grab mine.”

“It’s in the bedroom,” he said. “On the nightstand.” He went to the kitchen to start breakfast, glad she didn’t slap him, but she still might when she heard the news.

Cordelia stepped in his bedroom for the first time and looked around, curious. She saw evidence of a woman’s touch all around, and she wondered how long it would be before Anya’s ghost no longer haunted both of them. Grabbing his phone of the nightstand, she went into the living room to call Wes.

“You can stop the research,” she said.

“Cordy? Are you at Xander’s? Do I need to come over?” he asked.

“No. Xander’s going to explain to me why we have matching tattoos that he says are gifts from the All-Father,” she explained to him.

“Oh, really?” Wes said. “Well, then they are probably a protection rune of some kind. That’s wonderful news.”

“Easy for you to say. You didn’t wake up with a giant wolf tattoo on your chest,” she complained.

“It’s not too bad,” he said. “I thought it was very hip as they say.”

Cordelia laughed. “You are such a dork, but I’ll come by later and give you more details as soon as I pry them out of my baby-daddy,” she said.

“Okay,” Wes said.

When she went into the kitchen, she put his phone down on the kitchen table and watched his easy familiarity in the domain. “You seem comfortable in here,” she said.

“Anya liked to cook very disgusting things that reminded her of home,” Xander said with a fond smile. “If I wanted a decent meal, I had to do the cooking.”

Cordelia smiled. “Angel did all the cooking for us,” she said.

“Really?” Xander asked in surprise.

Cordelia nodded. “Normally, breakfast foods at night—I was surprised, but he said that he was a cook in the army during the war,” she said. “Angel was full of surprises.”

“You miss him,” Xander observed.

“Yes,” she said. “He was my hero—my best friend. When he had Connor, we were all very happy. I’m not sure how he didn’t lose his soul then because being a father was the happiest time in his life.”

“Then he had his baby stolen and raised by his enemy, who taught him to hate him, right?” Xander said, shaking his head.

“Yep. To make it worse, Connor was raised in a hell dimension, so he never knew any kindness or love—only harshness. The few months we had him was the only peace he ever knew, and he never remembered any of it because he was too young,” Cordelia said, feeling said. “When he came back, I was possessed by that higher power, and I seduced him. I still get sick when I think about it.”

“I never thought I’d feel so sorry for Angel,” Xander said with a grimace of distaste. “I guess you can’t really blame Angel for doing what he did to save his son if his son was suicidal and about to kill you and a bunch of others. Now that we’re going to be parents, I can’t help but think there’s not anything we wouldn’t do to save our kid if he was in a similar situation.”

Cordelia sighed. “I suppose,” she acknowledged. “But Xander, you don’t know what the law firm really is. The Senior Partners are actual demons. The employees sign their souls over to the demons when they work there—it’s an evil place, and if they gave it to Angel, it’s because they want to destroy him.”

“Well, Angel’s been around a long time. He’s not some young kid they can manipulate and take advantage of,” Xander pointed out. “When it’s over, I have a feeling that Angel will be the one left standing.”

“I hope so,” she said. She watched as he expertly flipped pancakes while bacon cooked in another skillet.

“Do you want eggs too?” he asked.

“Bacon’s enough protein,” she said. “I want two big pancakes, though.”

“Will you pour us some juice?” he asked.

“And coffee,” she said. “The doctor said I can have one cup a day. No more cappuccinos, though.”

“I will make it up to you with foot massages,” he said. “I give good ones.”

Cordelia grinned. “Good to know. Did you know your roommate spent the night with mine?”

“It’s about time,” Xander said with a wide smile.

“Tell me about it,” she said. “Buffy moves slower than a nun.”

“She just wanted to be sure with this one because she’s ready to settle down, and Bucky’s been through a lot, and so has she,” Xander said, putting the pancakes on plates. Then he patted the grease off the bacon before putting it on the plates.

“I guess I need to start staying at my apartment,” Cordelia said.

“How did you end up at Buffy’s anyway?” Xander asked.

“Once after a fight, I stayed the night,” she said. “Then I just didn’t leave.”

Xander laughed. “Who knew you’d be so clingy?” he asked.

She glared. “It’s not that. Buffy misses her family, especially Dawn. She doesn’t like living alone,” Cordelia said. “I could tell. She was way too happy to have me over.”

They dug into the breakfast a few minutes, and then Xander told her about his dream vision with Odin.

“So you’re telling me that if you or I are in danger, a freakin’ wolf is going to morph out of our body to defend us?” Cordelia asked incredulously.

“According to the All-Father, yes,” Xander said. “My wolf’s name is Geri, and yours if Freki. They are mates. They were in the dream.”

“You actually saw them?” Cordelia said.

Xander nodded. “I did,” he said.

“Our lives are really weird,” she said with a sigh. “I guess, it’s kind of cool. We have guard dogs without having to do the popper-scoop thing.”

“True,” he said with a grin. “So I talked to Willow.”

“What’s going on with her?” Cordelia asked.

“She’s helping Tony track down Warren’s evil robot,” Xander said. “I am so not surprised it was him that was behind all this chaos. He was totally a supervillain wannabe.”

“Well, if he almost caused nuclear war, he’s probably an actual supervillain,” Cordelia pointed out.

“True,” Xander acknowledged. “Willow thinks Buffy being a foster parent is a bad idea. That things are too dangerous right now with the First Evil on the prowl.”

“Well, I’m about to have a baby—should I abort our baby because there’s danger a foot?” she said bluntly. “There’s always danger a foot in our lives. If Buffy feels it’s time for her to do this, and she wants to be the family for that poor girl who has no family, then she should. We should support that. That’s what you should tell Willow!”

Xander grinned. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do that the next time she lets me get a word in edgewise,” he said. “She was a bit frantic when she called due to all the crap she and Tony are working on.”

Both enjoyed the breakfast, and Cordy was relieved that she didn’t have some new devil tattoo. Xander forgot to mention the part about Odin’s comment concerning Loki.

When Wesley got to the shop, his employee Luke was already there. He was quite pleased with his employee, finding him dependable and hard working. Plus, he knew more magic than he’d let on initially. Wesley told him about the magical tattoos, and Luke looked alarmed.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Luke said. Inwardly, Loki was wondering was his meddlesome father was up to.

“Cordelia told me that they were a gift from the All-Father to protect her baby,” Wesley said.

Luke’s face showed the shocked that Loki was feeling. “Baby? She’s with child?” he asked.

“Oh, forgive me. I probably should have asked Cordelia before speaking to you, but as you work for Xander and me, it will be hard to keep secret,” Wesley said. “He and Cordelia are having a baby.”

“I did not realize they were a couple,” Luke said carefully. Inside, he was seething. How did that happen?

“I don’t think they are,” Wesley said. “It was more like a drunken hook up. Neither seem to be happy about the circumstances, especially as Anya hasn’t been gone long. Xander in particular feels guilty, so I don’t expect them to be a couple any time soon. However, a baby is always a cause for celebration, and I know both will make excellent parents.”

“Of course,” Luke said. He was glad to know they weren’t a couple, but he knew this made things complicated for him. His father, though, has clearly blessed the union if he gifted him with protection runes. What did this mean?

A customer came in, distracting them both from the conversation.

***** _Pentagon*****_

Tony was anxious to nail this final piece that Warren had put into play, and he was very happy to have the X-Men assisting. He wasn’t sure he believed in prophecy or a mutant with the gift of precog, but Willow was a witch with magical powers. His world view had become wide open recently, so he was happy to have the assist. If this latest plan of Warren’s was going to lead to World War III, then he would do whatever he could to stop it. Willow and Bruce felt the same as did the President.

Rhodey wanted to be in the air, but Tony was afraid the A.I. would spot him. Instead, he was counting on Willow’s magic and Clint’s eagle eye as well as Professor Xavier’s team watching. Then he saw a female figure with a shawl over her head walking down the sidewalk toward the Pentagon, and he just knew.

“She’s at the gate!” he called on comms.

Willow teleported to intercept with Professor Xavier and his blue friend with her. Logan and Jean walked out of the surveillance van across the street.

Professor Xavier immediately stopped everyone on the street from observing what was happening as Willow pulled back the shawl to get a visual confirmation. “It’s her,” she announced. Without pausing, she wrapped her in a green band, and then she immediately teleported far away from the Pentagon.

Logan grumbled. “Damn it!” he exclaimed, disappointed there was no fight.

Professor Xavier released those around him and smiled at Logan. “It is a good thing when a plan goes off without a hitch, Logan,” he said.

“Did Willow get her?” Tony asked on the comms.

“She did,” Professor Xavier told him.

Rhodey was relieved and passed on the good news to his superiors. “The government thanks you all for your assistance,” he relayed before heading to the location where Willow took their new acquisition.

Tony joined the X-Men, holding out his hand to the Professor. “I really appreciate the assist,” he said. “I hate to think of the damage that robot would’ve unleashed.”

“Nuclear war isn’t something any of us want to live through,” Logan said with a grimace.

“Listen, since you have Faith’s brother at your school, you know a bit about the supernatural,” Tony said. “There’s some big evil brewing on the hellmouth. If any of your team feels like going to Sunnydale and lending a hand, I know Faith would appreciate the assist.”

“I will see what I can do,” Professor Xavier said. His team linked, and Kurt took them all away.

Tony was glad for the new allies but eager to see just what Warren created. The man may have ended up being evil, but he was an evil genius, nevertheless.

***** _A Few Days Later*****_

It was decided that Logan would take John to the hellmouth. If the situation grew dire, he would call in reinforcements. John was very excited to see his big sister, and Logan could tell as the boy wasn’t supporting his normal sneer. They were driving as he had snatched one of Scott’s cars. It was a long drive, and he had even allowed the kid to do some of the driving. They did pull over in Kansas and stay over at a hotel for a night, but he wasn’t about to drag the trip into three nights.

“What’s your sister like?” Logan asked as they were a few miles outside of Sunnydale.

“She’s tough—doesn’t take any bullshit from anyone,” John said.

“You know she’s a murderer, right?” Logan asked.

John glared at him. “No, she’s not!” he said. “She got caught up. You can’t imagine what it’s like to be a slayer. She dreams of past lives, other slayers. She sees their lives fighting monsters, and she sees their deaths. A slayer is meant to kill—they are the ultimate predator. The thing monsters fear. Imagine that. When you see her or her counterpart, you wouldn’t believe it at all.”

“She don’t look like a fighter?” Logan asked.

John shook his head. “Nope. She’s mostly sex-on-a-stick—don’t tell her I said that,” he said. “Faith thinks it’s by design. They look harmless to draw in the vampire, who likes easy prey.”

Logan could respect that. “Sounds smart,” he said.

“She accidentally killed a human, and it messed her up,” he said. “We grew up with asshole parents. Her dad was loosely associated with the Irish Mob, and he was always in and out of trouble. That meant he wasn’t around much. Mom had a revolving door of guys when he was gone—that’s how I came to be—and some of them saw my sister as a tasty treat.”

Logan looked disgusted. “No shit?” he asked.

“The first guy I set on fire was trying to put his hands on her,” he said. “Luckily, she reacted quickly and put out the fire, so I didn’t go to jail.”

“Sheesh,” Logan said, picturing the scene.

“Buffy and her watcher Giles could’ve done more to help my sister,” John said. “Faith doesn’t ask for help, but they let her stay in this rundown hotel when she was here. Hotels offer no protection for vampires. She survived robbing vamps and demons she killed. Her own watcher wasn’t concerned for her welfare, so when the mayor showed her kindness, she fell for it. I don’t think anyone has the right to judge her. She more than paid for her mistake. Buffy put her in a coma, and she went to jail. Now she’s doing her job.”

“Well, we’re almost there,” Logan said, looking at the GPS. It after dark, and they were driving to Faith’s house. “Do you think she’ll be home?”

“I better call,” John said. He pulled out his phone.

Faith was just about to go out for patrol—it was nearly midnight. They now patrolled at four-hour intervals. Dave, Dominic, and Canada had the eight to midnight spot. Steve did ten to two while she did twelve to four. The days she went in at the high school to work security, she would switch with Steve. It was a good thing she was at the school as she’d already stopped a bunch of dumb boys from summoning a demon. She was still pissed about that, and Robin had to remind her they were minors as she wanted to beat one of the more mouthy boys real good. Canada was all broken up over a really sweet kid named Cassie that died. The girl was some type of psychic and had told Canada she was going to die—the girl had just known her own death date. Canada had been the one to find out about the ritual those clowns were doing. Cassie was the virgin sacrifice. Although they’d saved Cassie, she’d still died that night—her heart stopped.

Faith still couldn’t believe a kid her brother’s age could have a heart condition. It didn’t seem right—not with all the shit they already had to deal with.

Speaking of her brother, he was calling her. “What’s up?” she asked.

“Hey, sis. I’m about one mile from your house. I hope you’re home and not out patrolling,” he said.

“What do you mean? Did you get suspended? If you got kick out of that fancy boarding school, I am so going to kick your ass!” Faith fumed. She loved her brother more than anything, but he could be a real ass.

“No, I didn’t get kicked out—chill,” John said. “Professor Xavier ran into Willow in New York on a world saving mission. She said you might could use some help, so he sent me and Logan.”

“The wolf guy?” she asked.

Logan could hear the conversation with his superior hearing and growled in offense. John grinned. “Not a wolf, sis. Wolverine is his X-Men name, but he doesn’t transform into one.”

“Of course not,” Logan grumbled.

“Hey, she deals in supernatural and knows werewolves,” John said to him. “Sorry, Logan was complaining at your insult.”

“Tell him sorry,” Faith said. She didn’t want to offend his actual teacher even if he was the more orthodox one from what she’d heard.

“Tell him yourself,” John said as they pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. The car’s headlights lit up Faith, who was already outside. “She must’ve been about to leave to patrol, so we made it just in time.”

Faith hung up the phone and grinned as her brother jumped out of the car. “I can’t believe you came! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” she asked as she pulled him in for a hug.

“Don’t break my back, sis!” he warned.

She eased up and pushed him away to look at him with a critical eye. He was a bit taller and in need of a haircut. “That’s what you get for not calling before you came! I was just about to go on patrol,” she said.

Logan was slower getting out and walked cautiously up to the slayer, his senses on high alert as something in him was awakened. When he was standing next to John, Faith’s eyes connected to his, and it was like being hit with a sledgehammer. His reaction was immediate, and it was potent. When John’s sister gave him a knowing grin, he growled.

John looked at his teacher warily. “Uh, Logan, this is Faith, my sister. We have different dad’s, but it didn’t matter to us,” he said.

“No, it didn’t,” Faith said, smiling warmly at John. She held out her hand to Logan. “Nice to meet you, Logan.” She almost purred as she looked at the teacher. Although she and Bruce had gotten together at Xander’s wedding, they weren’t exactly a couple as the age difference bothered Bruce too much. He called Faith, though, and Faith was glad for his friendship. This man was glaring at her hand like it was a snake about to bite him, but Faith wasn’t offended. He was attracted to her—clearly. When she shook his hand, the awareness between them was even stronger, and she grinned as his frown became more pronounced.

He didn’t like the affect she had on him, and that amused the hell out of Faith. Unlike she had with Bruce, she didn’t think she’d feel at all bad for making Logan lose his peace of mind.

She let go of his hand. “Do you guys want to go inside and rest? Or you can join me on patrol,” she said.

John looked at Logan. “I’m not the one that was driving—ask the old man here,” he said.

“Who you callin’ old?” Logan snarled.

John gave him a cheeky grin. “Just the guy who’s been through more than one actual war,” John said.

“No shit?” Faith asked in surprise. “You’ll have to trade war stories with the Captain. He loves that shit.”

“Captain America is in town?” John asked excitedly.

Faith nodded. “Yep. He’s out patrolling now, but you’ll meet him. The hellmouth is been wiggy lately,” she said. “The First evil is trying to play mind games with us. If a dead person appears to you, it’s not a ghost. It’s the First messing with you. He can take the form of the dead, but he has no physical form. Just messes with your mind and shit.”

“That’s messed up,” John said, frowning.

“Why don’t we get some rest and patrol with her tomorrow?” Logan suggested, not ready to deal with the clear attraction he was feeling. He needed to recharge.

“Come on inside,” Faith said. She let them grab a bag and took them inside to her apartment. “I have a spare room, so Logan you can have that. John can have the couch. We have an extra apartment upstairs. If you guys are hanging around longer, Logan might take it. I don’t have the key to it now, though.”

Logan was glad to know he wouldn’t have to share space with her for long. She stood in the doorway of her apartment not moving out of his way, gesturing for him to go in, which forced him to nearly brush against her as he walked in. When she gave him a knowing smirk, he realized how aware she was. The slayer totally knew the affect she had on him.

The minx totally was playing him.

Logan wasn’t sure how he felt about that—not at all.

***** _Chapter End*****_

_Although I was enjoying the Bruce/Hulk/Faith bit, I couldn’t help but write a Logan/Faith attraction. Feel free to chime in your thoughts on the pairing you prefer. Thanks so much!_


	3. Murder in a Small Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Romance and murder ahead...

***** _Ohio*****_

Clint squeezed into the back of the audience next to Laura. "Did I miss her?" he asked his wife.

"No," she said. "They started off with the trying out the boy parts. Everyone does a scene and a song, so it's taking a while."

" _Grease_ is a big production," Clint said. "I can't believe the school's actually going to pull it off."

"I think having Dawn here has inspired the drama coach," Laura said.

"Really?" Clint asked with a proud smile.

"She can sing, dance, and act," Laura said. "And she's beautiful."

"Plus, she can kick ass," he remarked.

"Well, they don't actually know that," she said with a chuckle. Then Dawn came on the stage, and the stopped talking and listened to her perform a monologue.

When she sang "I'm Sandra Dee," Clint leaned over and whispered, "There's no way she doesn't get the lead."

Luckily, they only tried out two more due to time, the rest were coming back the next day, so they didn't have to wait long to see Dawn.

"You made it!" she exclaimed, running and hugging her brother.

"I did," he said.

"I didn't think you'd be back," she said.

"Luckily, Tony and Willow stopped nuclear war before it happened," Clint said casually.

His wife and sister looked at him. "Seriously?" Dawn asked, her mouth hanging open.

He shrugged as he led them outside the school. "That asshole, Warren, from your hometown not only caused the blackouts globally, but he created a robot that looked exactly like Pepper. She was going into the Pentagon," Clint said. "According to this precog mutant that contacted us, she was going to start World War Three by releasing a nuclear attack on Russia and China."

Both women looked suitably horrified at the thought. His wife stopped him and hugged him tightly. "I'm sure you did your part," she said.

"Well, I was taking point as a sharpshooter in case she did something before Willow got to her," he said.

"But it's over? Threat completely averted?" Dawn asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't," he said. "Luckily, I was able to come just in time to see you nail that audition. You have that part in the bag."

"Tonya says I'm not blonde enough to get the part," she said.

"That's what wigs or hair dye is for," he pointed out.

"That's what I said!" she said with a grin.

"How did you get here?" his wife asked.

"I took a cab from the airport," he said as he got into her car, glad to be home. His normal senses didn't notice the eyes that were watching them.

"What's for dinner?" Dawn asked. "I'm starving."

"I figured we'd pick up a pizza," Laura said.

"Who's watching the kids?" Clint asked.

"They're at the Thompsons, so I'll swing by and get them," she said.

"So what have I missed since I've been gone?" Clint asked.

"There's been some rumors floating around about the drama teacher," Dawn said.

"Really? Mrs. Harris?" Clint asked, turning around in the seat to look at her.

"You two are the biggest gossips," Laura admonished.

"Some of isn't complete gossip," Dawn insisted. "You told me yourself that the assistant pastor at the Episcopal church had his wife leave him."

"Yes, that's true," Laura said. "A nice young man. Pastor Caleb. I had a flat tire once, and he helped change my flat."

"Poor guy," Clint said with sympathy. "So what's Mrs. Harris have to do with anything?"

"The rumor is Pastor's Caleb's wife left him for Mrs. Harris," Dawn said with a grin.

"No way!" Clint said.

"Way," Dawn said.

"Isn't she married?" Clint said.

"Yep," Dawn said with glee. "That's what makes it so scandalous."

"That's kind of indecent," Clint said, frowning. "She's a teacher. She should be setting a good example for her students."

"Now you go from gossip to Mr. Prude?" his wife said with a grin.

"I'm not a prude. I'm just saying teachers should have some type of moral high road for our children to aspire to," he said. "Don't you think? They're role models."

"That's true," Dawn said. "I don't know if it's true or not, but it's kind of messed up to steal the wife of a pastor."

"No one better not try to steal my wife," Clint said, reaching and grabbing Laura's hand.

"As if they could," she said, rolling her eyes. She pulled into the pizza place. "Go order the pizza while I run and get the boys."

Clint and Dawn got out of the car. Once again, they never noticed the eyes watching them.

***** _New York*****_

"Tony, who do you know in Ohio that has pull?" she asked him.

"I don't know. Several. The governor. The lieutenant governor. A few scientists. Why?" he asked.

"Well, Clint's sister, Buffy, called me asking if we knew anyone that could pull strings to get an orphaned child placed into her custody," Pepper said. "The mom died in front of Xander's Magic Box when a plane crashed due to Warren's power outage."

Tony's eyes flashed with rage. "How many other kids are orphans because of what he did? That blood is on my hands, Pepper," he said, feeling sick. He put his head in his hands. "Buffy warned me about him, told me not to trust him. I really thought if I threw enough money at him that he'd be fine. How could I be so stupid?"

"It's not your fault, Tony," Pepper said. "I spoke to him, too. Threatened him with Natasha by my side. He seemed very intimidated and sincere in wanting to work for us and grateful for the opportunity."

"Because he was my employee, the lawsuits are already piling up," Tony said. "The stocks are going to take a hit, so we have to get out in front of this. I was thinking of asking Tara to be our new spokesperson."

"Come again?" Pepper asked in surprise.

"Willow's lover was able to turn Loki into a non-homicidal member of his family from what Thor's told me," Tony said. "She's got this soothing manner about her. I don't think the reporters will even be mean to her—it'll be like kicking a puppy."

"You think she'd be interested in doing it?" she asked.

"When I frame it in a public service job, she won't be able to see no," Tony said with a smirk.

"Tony!" Pepper said with a frown. "Don't take advantage of that poor girl!"

"Hey, she's a pretty powerful witch. It's not like she's an actual defenseless puppy. She's got Loki and Willow, two extremely powerful beings, completely devoted to her," Tony said.

Pepper just rolled her eyes. "So about Buffy, are you going to make a call?" she asked.

Tony nodded. "Of course. The girl has died twice and saved the world more than three times that I know of and has never asked for a single thing for herself, and when she does, it's still about helping someone," he remarked. "The woman is a saint, and I will convince whoever I need to of that. As you know, I can be _very_ persuasive." He moved to kiss her neck.

"That's what I've heard," she said, tilting her head back to give him access.

"Oh, yea?" he asked.

"Yes, it was written on the bathroom walls," she said with a giggle.

He growled and began tickling her, and she ran to the sofa where he pinned her down.

"Ha. Now I have you exactly where I want you," he said.

"And what do you plan on doing with me?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Tony thought about how close things came to being over and asked her the question he'd been wanting to ask her for several years. "I'm going to marry you," he announced.

"Oh, really?" she said in surprise.

He sat back, pulling her up. "I bought a ring two years ago, but my head was messed up after the invasion," he said. "It's upstairs. I was waiting for the right time. This latest near miss has made things really clear to me, though. What are we waiting for? We're not getting any younger. I love you more than anything in this world. I don't function without you—you are the best part of every day. The suit might've turned me into a hero, but you turned me into a man worth loving. I don't want to just be your lover or partner any more. I want to be your husband, and the father of your children—even if it's just one. I want us to have a baby."

Pepper felt overwhelmed like she often did by the shear intensity of Tony, his sincerity, spontaneity, and his love. How could she say no? She was nothing before him—just an invisible secretary that no one saw. No one thought she was important or special or even that attractive, but then she corrected a typo of his one day. Suddenly, he pulled her out of her cubicle and made her his personal assistant. It was the most singular event of her life up until then, but it was never mundane afterwards because life with Tony Stark was full of wonderous events.

She gave him a loving smile and lifted her hand to his cheek. "I love you, Tony, just as much, and I am so proud of the man you have become. I love our life, but I would be very proud to be your wife, and I know you would be an incredible and amazing father. Yes, I will marry you," she said. She kissed him.

He pulled her to her feet. "Come on. I'll show you the ring. We'll have the wedding in May instead of June, so it won't be so cliché. How does that sound?" he asked. "It will give Happy time to plan it."

She laughed. "Happy's planning our wedding?" she asked.

"Well, not all of it, but you know he likes to be included in all major life events since he can't be an Avenger," Tony said. "I bet Willow will have JARVIS's body ready by then. JARVIS can do the ceremony. Won't that be cool? JARVIS, can you be ordained to do the ceremony?"

"I am not sure that my status as a non-person will make it legal, sir, but I would be honored," he said.

"I will get Willow working on his status as an alien being with Ambassador rights," Tony said, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

Pepper laughed as he dragged her up the stairs.

***** _Ohio*****_

Loki decided that it was time to press his suit with Cordelia. It was a few days after he found out she was pregnant when she came into the shop, wanting to use their table space to work on some homework.

"Not a problem," Loki/Luke said, flashing her a smile. He didn't bother her for two hours, but it was close to lunch. He decided to chance an interruption. "I was thinking of going across the street to grab a sandwich. Would you like me to grab you something?"

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, you read my mind! I'll watch the register while your gone. Will you get me their soup of the day, too, and an A & W Root Beer? It has sugar but no caffeine, which is okay for the baby—oh, did you hear that I'm knocked up?" she asked with a rueful smile.

"Wesley mentioned that you and Xander were having a baby," he said carefully.

She waved her hand. "Not the way you think—we're not a couple. We were together several years ago, but he cheated on me with Willow, who's a lesbian now," she said. "Ironic, huh? I might've gotten over it since it was just a kissing, but I fell through a floor and got impaled on rebar. The pain of that kind of amplified the pain of his betrayal."

Luke winced. "That sounds awful," he said.

"It was," she said. "But we got drunk a while back and slept together. I was feeling lonely, and he was feeling sad about Anya. Now I'm pregnant. According to someone who would know, it's a boy."

"A son? Congratulations," Luke said. His father must've told them. Loki couldn't help but wonder what else the All-Father might've revealed.

"Do you need any money?" she asked.

"For what?" he asked.

"For lunch," she said.

"No, it's my pleasure to by the new mother lunch," he said with a smile. "What kind of sandwich?"

"Surprise me," she said. "Just don't put it on rye—I hate rye bread."

Luke nodded. He turned to go before he flashed a satisfied smile. Finally, he was spending time with her.

An hour later, they had finished their lunch, and she stopped all pretense of studying as he regaled her with yet another story of his older brother, causing her to laugh until she cried. Of course, she had no idea that his stories were about Thor.

That's how Buffy found them when she came into the place. "There you are," she said. "Wesley said you were studying."

"I was. Then Luke bought me lunch, and then he started telling me these hilarious stories about his older brother," Cordelia said.

A customer came into the shop. "Duty calls," Luke said, getting up from the table.

"Were you looking for me?" Cordelia asked Buffy.

Buffy nodded and sat down at the table. "I wanted to tell you my news. I got a call from the caseworker. Some higher up called her and said that I've been approved for emergency foster care placement for Savannah!" she said with a beaming smile.

"Really? That's amazing!" Cordelia said, giving her a hug.

"I know! I'm so excited. I was hoping you'd go with me shopping to decorate her room," Buffy said.

"It's a good thing I moved all my stuff out yesterday, huh?" Cordelia said, smiling.

"Good thing," Buffy said. "Bucky said he's put together the furniture, but he wasn't too keen on going shopping. He still doesn't do well with crowds."

"That's fine. We get the fun parts, and he can have the gruel parts," Cordelia said. She began putting her books in her bag, and then she stood up, waiting for Luke's customer to finish cashing out. Then she stepped up. "Thanks, Luke, for lunch. Next time lunch is on me."

"How about dinner?" Luke asked. "Tomorrow night. Can I take you to dinner?"

Cordelia blinked in surprise. "Like on a date?" she asked.

He grinned. "Most definitely," he said.

"You know I'm pregnant with another man's baby," she pointed out.

"It doesn't make you any less desirable," he countered.

Cordelia thought about it. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been on an actual date, and he was very attractive, charming, and intelligent. How could she say no? "Okay," she said, smiling. "No one has asked me on a date in a few years."

"Really?" he asked.

"Pathetic, huh?" she said. "I worked a lot. Then there was Groo. We went out, but he didn't ask me out or even have money since he was from a demon dimension."

"Then it's past time," Luke said, flashing her a warm smile.

"Make it Italian," she said.

"That's fine. I'll pick you up at seven," he said.

"Can you make it six?" she asked. "I get hungry early."

He chuckled. "That works for me," he said. "Have a good day."

When the two girls got outside, Buffy looked at Cordelia. "You are clearly holding out on me! Spill!" she ordered.

"Luke just asked me out," she said with a smug grin.

"That's what I thought," Buffy said. "Did you say yes?"

"I did. We're having dinner tomorrow," she said.

"He is hot as hell, so I can't blame you for saying yes," Buffy said. "But have you thought about how it would complicate things."

"It's just dinner, Buffy. I'm not going to sleep with him," Cordelia said. "I'm driving, so leave your car here."

Buffy nodded and got into Cordy's car. After they car was moving, she continued. "I know you and Xander aren't together now, but you're going to be having a baby together. At one time, you loved each other. I just don't want you to start a relationship with another guy and shut the door on Xander," Buffy said. "Your baby deserves to have the possibility of both his parents together, don't you think?"

Cordelia sighed. "I know, Buffy. I just don't want to put any pressure on us," she said.

"That's understandable," Buffy said. "You just might want to let Luke know where your head is at."

"I will," Cordelia said. "But I want a reason to get dressed up and go out on a date. Do you know how long it's been since someone has asked me out on a date? Over two years."

Buffy winced. "That's worse than my dry spell before Bucky," she said.

"Yep," Cordelia said. "So let me have my dinner."

"Fine," Buffy said. "But there's no guy better than Xander."

"Why didn't you ever go there with him?" Cordelia wondered. "It's not like you couldn't have. He was so into you when you first came to town."

"Well, Willow was crushing on him, and I wanted to be friends with her. Then Jesse died, and he needed a friend, not a girlfriend. I needed a friend, not a boyfriend," she explained. "Then there was Angel, and I didn't see anyone but him for a long time. The timing just never worked out between us, and I'm glad that we never crossed that line."

"Me, too," Cordelia said. "It makes it easier for me."

Buffy smirked. "I bet," she said.

Cordelia wondered, though, how she would feel if Xander went on a date with another girl.

***** _Sunnydale*****_

It had been four days since they'd been in town. After Logan's first night, he had met the slayer's team. It was decided that he could stay in one of the empty apartment's in the building, which he appreciated because his attraction to the kid's sister was unsettling. What pissed him off was the slayer's knowing smirk—she knew he was attracted to her.

The town itself, though, was a real trip. Dead people actually came out of the ground. It was insane. The kid loved setting the vampires on fire, though. The fact that he could do so, and no one told him it was wrong to kill thrilled him to no end. Logan let the more famous Captain America give him the speech about how vampires weren't humans, so it was okay to kill them. Somehow, he wasn't sure the Professor would approve.

He walked into the Magic Box and greeted Faith's watcher. He liked the Brit. Unlike some teachers he knew, the Brit wasn't judgmental or condescending. "Hey," he said.

"Hello, Logan. How are you today?" Rupert asked.

"Fine. Any news?" he asked.

"Two more potentials overseas have been killed. The Council is working to gather all of them and send them either here or to Buffy in Ohio," Rupert said.

"Wouldn't they be safer at the Council's headquarters?" Logan asked.

"They believe things will be coming to a head here in America, so they'll be safer guarded by the slayers and Avengers," Rupert said. Then he smiled. "And now the X-Men."

Logan rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure that title would fit me," he said. "Where's everyone?"

"In the back. Faith is sparring with the Captain," Rupert said.

"Really?" Logan said, hating that he was missing it.

"You overslept," Rupert admonished.

"We were patrolling until four," he said.

"Faith doesn't need that much sleep," Rupert said.

Logan shook his head as he walked to the back. The woman was a machine—a deadly predator after his own heart. She had her own accelerated healing ability, but she could be killed. However, she had an instinctive gift for all weaponry and fought like a deadly panther, full of beautiful grace. Watching her got him so hard that he could barely stand it, but he was resisting her. Not only was she the kid's sister, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't come out unscathed if he got into bed with her. Yet he wanted to see how she held up to Steve Rogers.

She had been trying to get him to spar with her, but he had refused because he knew if he did, they'd be tearing off their clothes by the end of the match. Instead, he encouraged her brother to and called out pointers when they did so.

Now, though, he watched her and Captain America go at it with two of Steve's people there calling out words of advice.

Steve didn't move as fast as Faith, but his hits were clearly hard as Faith was knocked off her feet more than once. However, they didn't seem to faze her any. She'd bounce up with a grin, and then she moved down low, kicking at his knee. The loud pop caused everyone to wince as the Captain went down. Then she moved him and hit him hard in the face, stunning him.

"Okay, I'm done!" Steve called, grabbing his knee and popping it back in place.

"Are you okay?" Faith asked.

"I'll live," he said with a sigh. "Did you have to go for the knee?"

"Hey, you punched me in my boob earlier, so you're lucky I didn't kick you in the jewels," she said with a smirk.

"Here's an ice pack," Dave said, handing it to him as Dominic held out his hand to pull him to his feet.

"So, Wolverine, are you ready to give it a go?" Faith said.

"Nah," Logan said. "I don't need to get slapped around by a girl."

"Where's John?" Faith asked.

"Still sleeping," Logan said. "Since I didn't want to have the apartment set on fire, I decided not to wake him up."

Steve frowned. "He does that?" he asked

Logan shrugged. "He's a young mutant who is controlled by his hormones," Logan said. "That's why the Professor's school exist. It's a safe place for mutants to learn how to control their powers."

"That's a good thing he's doing," Steve said.

Faith eyed Logan, wondering how she was going to convince him to spar with her. She really needed his hands on her. It'd been too long since she'd had sex not since Anya's funeral when she and Bruce had hooked up.

"Faith," Bruce said.

Thinking about him must have conjured him up because there he was, standing in the doorway, giving her that bashful smile.

Faith grinned and wasted no time throwing herself in his arms, kissing him—much to Logan's surprise.

_******Ohio******_

After school, Dawn read the names posted of who got what part. When she saw her name listed for the role of Sandy, she squealed in excitement. Her friends congratulated her.

She pulled out her phone and called home. "I got the part!" she told her brother.

"I knew you would," Clint said.

"I have to stay until five for a read through," she said.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked.

"No, I'll get a ride," she said.

"Okay. Text me when you're leaving the school," he said.

"I will," she said.

"I'm so proud of you," he said. "I love you."

"Love you. Bye," she said before hanging up.

When she got to the auditorium, the rest of the cast was already there. They waited several minutes for the drama teacher to show up. Finally, Dawn stood up. "I'll go to her office and see what's taking her so long," she said.

Mrs. Harris' office was across the hall from the backside of the auditorium, so she walked down the side of the stage to get to it. The office door was closed. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Mrs. Harris?" she called, turning the doorknob. It was unlocked, so she pushed it opened. Immediately, the smell of blood and death hit her, and she froze, her eyes scanning the room. There in the floor was her drama teacher, a pool of blood around her. Dawn's hand went to her mouth to hold in the scream—she didn't want other students to witness this horror scene. No one needed the memories that she had in her head from her time in Sunnydale.

She turned around and shut the door behind her. Then she took a deep breath before calling her brother. "Clint, I need you to come to the high school. Hurry! Mrs. Harris has been murdered! I just went into her office, and she's _dead_ on the floor."

"What?" Clint exclaimed. "Are you okay? Has anyone hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. Mrs. Harris is dead," she said, her voice breaking on a sob. "I need to call the police, so I'm hanging up. Come here, _please_."

"I'm on my way. Go stay with the rest of the students. Stay together. Don't let anyone leave the building. The killer could still be in the building," Clint said grimly as he made it to his truck. "I'll be there soon.

Dawn's eyes widened in alarm at his words. "Okay. I'll head there now," she said. She hung up and walked back to the auditorium as she called 9-1-1.

"I'd like to report a murder," she said. "My drama teacher has been murdered at the high school."

_******To Be Continued*****_

_A kudos is great and a comment is AMAZING! Thanks for reading!_


	4. The Right Hand of God

Chapter 4: The Right Hand of God

***** _Iowa*****_

When Clint arrived at the school, the police were already there. His celebrity status as an Avenger was the only reason that they let him behind the yellow tape. His eyes zeroed in on Dawn, who was talking to a police detective. The other students were huddled several feet away from her.

“Dawn,” he called out. She looked up and ran to his arms, hugging him.

“Mrs. Harris is dead, Clint!” she sobbed.

He hugged her and looked at the police detective. “Did you find anyone in the building?” he asked.

“No, sir. It looked like she’d been dead at least a half hour,” the detective said. “We have your sister’s statement, so she is free to go.”

He led his sister to his car. “It was horrible, Clint,” she said. “I don’t understand how anyone could do that. Who would do that?”

“Didn’t you say she cheated on her husband with another woman?”

“You don’t think Reverend Caleb did this, do you? He’s so sweet,” Dawn said in disbelief.

Clint shrugged as he opened the car door. “Men are known to snap over a woman,” he said. He paused and looked around—something didn’t feel right.

Once again, Clint missed what was right there as Reverend Caleb sat in his car, staring at Dawn as she got into the car. “I don’t understand, Lord. How can your most beautiful creatures be so treacherous?”

A young man wearing the face of an Angel sat next to him in the car. “Was not Adam tempted in the garden by the beautiful Eve?” the Angel said.

“Who are you?” Caleb asked as he gazed at the dark-haired man that was suddenly in his car.

“I am Angel—the voice of your god. I am here to show you the way,” he said.

“What way is that?” Caleb asked.

“Do you want to serve me and punish all evil-doers?”

“You know that I do,” Caleb said. “I broke one of your Ten Commandments, however, and I am not fit to minister your gospel.”

“Did not David, the man after my own heart, slay Goliath and many others in defense of all that was good?” the Angel said.

“He did,” Caleb said.

“You are no longer a minister of the Gospel. I am now calling you to be my right hand—my sword to weed out the evil. We will stop the corruption that leads men astray. Even now, I have my minions—I mean servants—doing my bidding,” he said.

“What is your first command?” Caleb asked.

“That girl getting into that car is sister of a murderous brother—he has so much blood on his hand. Their other sister is a slayer—fused with darkness. They must be punished,” he said.

“I will kill them for you,” Caleb said.

“No, they are too dangerous, but their sister Dawn is weak and vulnerable. Hurt her, and you’ll be punishing them,” he instructed.

“It will be done,” Caleb said.

“When you continue to show me your commitment, I will bless you with a holy power. You will become my weapon to punish the evil doers,” he said.

“Your will be done,” Caleb said as religious fervor hit him. When Angel disappeared, he knew that he had been blessed by the Almighty. He started up his car and followed behind Dawn and her brother, determined to please his master.

***** _Sunnydale******_

Bruce woke up with a naked Faith draped across his chest. It happened again. When she kissed him in greeting, he knew then that he wouldn’t be able to resist her. Maybe if the Logan guy hadn’t looked so pissed over the kiss, he might’ve been able to resist her. However, the younger and better-looking guy brought out a possessiveness that he didn’t know he possessed, not to mention jealousy.

“Why did the new guy look so jealous by you kissing me?” Bruce asked her when she was in his car rental a short time later.

“Because he has the hots for me,” she said with a smirk. “Of course, he is resisting his attraction for some reason. I was flirting with him because I hadn’t had any good rides since I saw you last. If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have flirted with him.”

“Well, if you want to sleep with him, don’t let me stop you,” Bruce said, not able to hold back his annoyance. He came to see her, and she was already panting after another guy.

“Hey, we bumped uglies at a funeral, and we talk on the phone, but you never said that I’m your girlfriend or you wanted to be my exclusive lover,” she pointed out. “You still get upset ‘cause I did both sides of you.”

Bruce looked at her, trying to understand what she wanted from him. For all his intelligence and education, he sometimes felt like an idiot when talking to her. She tied him in knots. “Are you saying that you want to be my girlfriend?”

Faith sat up; her naked breasts only covered by her hair. Bruce was distracted as her nipples were still showing, and he handed her a pillow.

“I can’t have a serious conversation with you naked,” he said.

Faith snickered and hugged the pillow. “I have never been anyone’s girlfriend—not ever,” she said. “I’m not sure how good I’d be at it. I have to stay here for the next five years, so I don’t go back to prison. You could do so much better than me.” She looked away, feeling depressed as she realized that.

Bruce put his hand on her chin and lifted her face up, so he could see her eyes. “I have a rage monster that lives inside of me,” he reminded her. “I’m no prize, and the last woman I was very close to was killed because of the Hulk.”

“Good thing he loves me,” she said with a snicker.

“I’m not sure yet if I love you,” he admitted. “But I know that I think of you all the time. It’s hard to focus on my work because you won’t ever leave me for long.”

Faith grinned. “Really? That’s very sweet,” she said. “So what do you want? If you want me to be exclusive, I can do that. We can see how it goes.”

Bruce smiled, feeling a warmth spread through him. It wasn’t a confession of love or devotion, but he knew from her it was a lot. “I think that would be wonderful,” he said. “I could get a job at the university in town. Tony can send his jet when he needs me for a mission.”

“Really? You’d stay in town?” she asked.

“Well, the Hulk is irritated by the dark energy here, but I think you can work with him and keep him in line,” he said. “Make him not be so destructive.”

“That’d be awesome,” she said. “I think Steve is going to have one of the guys or Nat start working at the police department. Nat says she’s working on the getting police chief fired, so she can get Dave or Cali in there. Then your presence won’t make much official waves.”

“See, I think it’s meant to be,” he said.

“Okay, then, boyfriend, how about you kiss me like you mean it?” she asked.

“I think I can manage that,” Bruce said, pulling the pillow away and fusing their lips together.

***** _Ohio*****_

Buffy couldn’t believe it. Tony had worked his magic, and now Savannah was here. It had taken just a few days and not the weeks the DHS worker had said. Savannah seemed relieved to see a familiar face and had hugged Buffy when the social worker had brought her to Buffy. She had inspected the apartment and asked Buffy a few questions before leaving Savannah in her care.

“Thank you,” Savannah murmured. She looked up at Buffy. “I just want to be with someone that knew who my mom was. I know you didn’t know her, but you were there when she died.”

“I understand, sweetie. My mom died a few years ago, and it was sudden and shocking. I still miss her every day,” Buffy said. “I’m not going to try and be her for you—no one can replace her. I just want to be here for you, and so do my friends.” She was struck again by Savannah’s intelligence and maturity.

Savannah looked at the man she called Bucky and then the other guy Xander, who looked so sad.

“I lost my fiancée just a short time ago,” Xander said. “It sucks but having people around that care helps.”

The front door of the apartment opened, and Cordelia came in. “Sorry, I’m late. I was at class,” she said.

“Savannah, this is Cordy. She lives across the hall, and she is a bit on the gifted side,” Buffy said carefully. How did she prepare this girl for their life?

“By that she means that I get psychic visions of people who need help, and Buffy and Bucky and sometimes me and Xander go save them,” Cordelia said in her blunt manner.

“Really?” Savannah said, her eyes lighting up. “That’s so cool! Mom let me get my palm read once in Chicago. The woman said. . .” Her voice trailed off as she considered what the woman said. “She said that I had a good life ahead of me, but that I would face some challenges that would cause me pain. Do you think she knew my mom was going to die? Why didn’t she tell me not to ever get on a plane? Then my mom would be alive!”

Cordelia’s strong sense of compassion came out as she moved to put her arm around her before Buffy could think of a reply. “The woman was probably a fraud,” she said. “Everyone has sad times and challenges—that’s such a generic answer that could apply to just about anything. I’ve had mine for a few years, so I can say that I’m not a fake. I don’t charge for my visions. We just help people.”

“Like you all helped me and tried to help my mom?” she asked, looking at all of them.

“Yes,” Buffy said, squeezing her hand. “We have this group of stuffy British people that we call the Watchers Council. They pay us to do this in this town because there’s quite a bit of people in this town that need help?”

“More than Chicago? That city has a lot of bad places and so many more people,” Savannah said.

Buffy was struck again by how incredibly bright the young girl was—it would be hard to keep what they did away from her.

“Not exactly,” Buffy said. “This place, though, doesn’t have those specially trained cops like Chicago. Bigger cities have more money.”

“Good thinking,” Xander said, smirking. “How about we give her something happy to think about?” He gave a pointed look at Cordelia’s stomach.

“Xander and I are going to have a baby,” Cordelia announced.

“Cool!” Savannah said. “I always wanted a brother or sister, but Mom said she didn’t think it was in the plan for her. I guess she was right.” 

The girl looked too sad as she said that, so Cordelia added, “I’m having a boy.”

“Really? I could help babysit him sometime,” she said.

“That will be great,” Cordelia said. “I’m going to head to my apartment and jump in the shower. I’ve got dinner plans.”

Xander frowned. “Buffy was going to take us out to T.G.I.F. to celebrate,” he said.

Buffy looked at Bucky. “Let’s take Savannah to her new room,” she said, thinking that there was about to be a small fight between the soon-to-be parents.

“Buffy understands,” Cordelia said. “I have a date.” She had dinner once with Luke already, and tonight was going to be a second date. There hadn’t seemed to be the right time to tell Xander. She was annoyed with herself for not having this discussion earlier.

“A date?” Xander asked in shock. “You’re pregnant with my baby.”

“So?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t still have needs, Xander. We’re not in a relationship, remember? I’m single.”

Xander didn’t know what to say to that because she was right. However, the thought of her dating some guy bugged the heck out of him. “Who’s the guy? Does he know about your condition?”

Cordelia snorted. “My condition? It’s not the plague,” she said. “I’m pregnant, and yes, he knows. It’s Luke, your employee at the shop.”

“Luke? Seriously?” Xander asked. 

She nodded. “I’m sorry, Xander. I did mean to discuss this with you sooner,” she said.

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” he said, rubbing his chest. It almost felt like his tattoo was burning. “I know we’re not a real couple, but I didn’t know you were wanting to date right now. It’s just unexpected.”

“I wasn’t looking to, but it’s been over two years since I’ve been on a date,” she said. “I know that’s really lame to say, but it’s the truth. It’s nice getting dressed up and having a hot guy buy me dinner and say nice things.”

“And he’s got that slight accent,” Xander said with a smile.

“Very true,” Cordelia said, her smile wide. She was relieved that he wasn’t too mad and hugged him before leaving.

Buffy came back into the room. “Bucky is showing her how to work the TV,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

“Did you know Cordy was dating Luke?” he asked her. Her look of guilt answered the question, though.

“Yes, she told me, and I thought she’d already discussed it with you,” Buffy said. “I didn’t say anything to you because I figured if you wanted to talk about you would’ve. I’m sorry. Are you upset?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’m mostly just caught off guard. I mean she’s pregnant with my baby—my son if Odin is right. Now she’s out with some guy—a guy who technically works for me. Am I supposed to be okay with that?”

“I guess that depends on how you feel,” Buffy said. “If she is someone you have romantic feelings for, you should probably be a bit upset or a bit jealous—I would be.”

“That’s the thing—I don’t know how I feel,” he said. “I’ve always hated and loved Cordy in equal measure. I know her like I know Willow. The three of us grew up in Sunnydale, and I’ve watched her turn into this amazing woman. She’s everything I wanted her to be and more.”

“Then I guess you need to decide if you are done mourning Anya or not,” Buffy said.

“It’s too soon. What kind of man would I be if I just got over Anya and moved on to Cordy?” he asked. “It’s barely been six months.”

“First of all, none of us would think less of you, and Cordy’s not just some girl you just met,” Buffy said. “She’s someone you loved first. Someone you have a history with. If you aren’t ready to love her again, then don’t lead her on because she deserves to be with someone who will love her more than anything. But if you want a future with her and not just as a partner raising a child together, then you need to speak up.”

Xander nodded as he knew she was right. He had to figure out what he wanted and what he was ready for.

***** _New York*****_

Tara couldn’t believe it. How did Tony talk her into this? Giant frogs jumped in her belly as she walked to the podium to give her statement to the press. It was just a few days ago that Tony talked her into becoming his press secretary, his media liaison. She tried to convince him that he was insane, and that she was in no way suited for such a task. However, saying no to the man who never allowed himself to hear the word was not something she could do—although she tried. Goddess knew she tried. He just smiled and kept on telling her more about her job, responsibilities and pay. Then he had a stylist show up at her place with instructions to only polish her look —he loved her Mother Earth look. Those were Tony’s words, and she was too amused to be offended.

It didn’t help that Willow thought it was the most brilliant idea that Tony ever had, and she believed Tara was the right woman for the job. Now it was time for her to give her first press conference.

She ignored the cameras as she stepped to the podium. Pepper had introduced her, and now it was her turn.

“Hello, I am Tara. Tony and Pepper believe that I am the right person to speak to you,” she said in her soft voice. She didn’t realize that by using their first names, she was revealing an intimacy with the powerful couple that very few people had. The media took note and immediately adjusted their questioning. There was no need to offend a close friend of Tony Stark.

However, it her soft tone, wry sense of humor, and clear compassion that tamed even the most hardened amongst them. Willow watched from the sidelines next to Tony, pride beaming from her eyes.

“I knew she’d be perfect,” Tony said smugly. “They know she’s too nice for them to kick—no matter how much they might hate me.”

“No one hates you, Tony. Some are jealous of you, but most people admire and love you,” she stated.

“Now it’s time to share my big news,” he said. He walked toward the podium; the journalists surprised to see him as he so rarely spoke to the media, preferring to let Pepper Potts speak for him. Tara smiled and stepped aside as he came up. “Isn’t my new press secretary amazing? She’s a college student and not at all studying to get a degree in PR, but I convinced her that she was the best woman to make me look good.”

“How do you know her?” a brave reporter asked.

“She’s the girlfriend of my new robotics head, Willow Rosenberg,” he said, pointing to Willow off to the side. He grinned as Willow’s face looked alarmed—they were all now looking at her. She waved and gave a weak smile. “Willow is nearly as brilliant as I am but with some gifts I do not have, but I didn’t come up here to talk about my employees.” He turned and reached for Pepper’s hand, tugging her forward. “Pepper and I have an announcement to make. She begged me to marry her, and I said yes.”

Pepper smiled and rolled her eyes. “That’s not how I remember it,” she said, causing the reporters to laugh as requests to see her ring were asked. She held out her hand, so cameras could get a good peek at it. When she came to the podium earlier to introduce Tara, she’d had it on her right hand with the stone turned downward. However, she knew Tony would make the announcement and was ready with the diamond clearly visible.

“We will be married in May, so they’ll be plenty of time for you to get the details at a later date,” he said. “The current crisis, however, is our focus. As Tara said, we will do everything we can to help the lives of those my wayward employee destroyed. Warren Mears will pay for his crimes, and my company will make restitution. Thank you.”

He gave a final wave and walked off with Pepper and Tara trailing him. As always, he knew just what to do to feed the media beast. Anger at his company’s responsibility for the latest crisis would be tempered by his engagement news. Of course, he’d not proposed for that reason, but it was convenient that Tara actually had something good to work with.

The reporters, though, were still watching and snapped photos of Tara embracing her girlfriend. The LGTBQ community would be excited to see one of their own get such positive exposure.

Back in California, Loki was watching the television with mixed feelings. Although he loved seeing his Tara get such positive press, he didn’t like her playing second fiddle to anyone. She was so much better than the Tin Man. Sure, he was brilliant with a cunning mind that rivaled Loki’s. Tara’s lover, though, was more than his equal. Both Willow and Tony possessed a ruthlessness that Loki couldn’t help but admire even though he would never admit it. However, Tara was special, and Loki felt she deserved much more recognition.

The entity his father named K’ass appeared in his living room once again wearing the face of the slayer.

“Why are you here?” he asked. “I don’t have time for your games. Why do you keep wearing that face?”

“I like wearing the face of my enemy,” he said. “I wanted you to know that things are about to happen, and it’s time for you to pick a side.”

“I am always on my own side—surely, you know that,” Loki said. “However, if you dare harm the two I care about, you will come to regret it—I promise.”

“I have no plans to touch your witch or demon princess,” he said. “You better tell your slayer to get to the real hellmouth soon as things are going to begin to happen.” It was important that Buffy Summers go back to Sunnydale. Ohio’s hellmouth was too weak to cause much harm, and it would be much easier to work his dark designs in California.

“Buffy is fine where she is as Sunnydale has a slayer and the Avengers,” he said calmly.

“From beneath her, I will devour,” he said. Then he flashed away.

Loki rolled his eyes. That ghostly entity was starting to become annoying. Should he warn the slayer?

He decided to call Buffy. “Buffy, this is Luke,” he said.

“What’s up, Luke?” Buffy said, surprised he would call her. “Were you trying to track down Cordy? I think she’s in her apartment.”

“No, I needed to speak to you because I just had a visit from the First wearing your face,” he said.

“How did you know it wasn’t me?” Buffy asked. She’d not spent any time really with Xander’s new employee.

“I just did,” he said. “It wants you to go to Sunnydale or hopes to lure you there. There’s something going to happen on the hellmouth. I guess the one here is too weak to be any fun.”

“It told you that?” Buffy asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Luke said. “I think it hoped to turn me to its side or something. It disappeared when I made it clear that I wasn’t interested or impressed.”

“Well, I am impressed. Thanks for the heads up,” Buffy said. She hung up to tell Wes and call Giles.

Loki felt better after the call—he was no one’s tool.

Back in Asgard, Odin stood next to Heimdall. “It appears that my adopted son once again made the right choice,” Odin said.

“Indeed, he has,” Heimdall said. “K’ass, though, is just getting started.”

Odin knew that was true, but he had confidence that the humans would be prepared to thwart the ancient enemy.

***** _Ohio*****_

Dawn went out to the barn to get some eggs for dinner and never noticed the two demons watching her. She was carrying the eggs when the Bringers attacked. Her screams drew Spike, who pulled the demon off her and snapped its neck. Then he hit the other hard, knocking it out.

“Are you okay?” he asked her as he pulled her to her feet.

“Yes, thanks,” she said. Then a gunshot was heard, and Dawn cried out as the bullet pierced her lung from the behind.

Spike looked down in horror as Dawn collapsed against him. He scanned the area for the next threat, but he didn’t see anyone. Someone had shot Dawn.

Not far away, Caleb grimaced. A gun was so impersonal, but he had seen how easily the man dispatched his lord’s disciples. It was best not to take chances.

He had punished the evil doers, and his lord would be pleased.

***** _To Be Continued*****_

_In season 7, we never got Caleb’s back story or how he became a tool of the First, so I decided to create a back story. I hope you like it. More to come. Review if you are still reading and enjoying. Thanks._


	5. Showing His Real Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a reviewer mention that in season 7 Caleb said he had been punishing bad girls for years. I don’t think my version of Caleb really contradicts that canon as “punishing bad girls” could mean different things as minister can require acts of penance for their members. Not to mention, psychopaths often fantasize elaborately about murder before they actually do it. What would push a minister to murder? Whedon never explained that at all. You could assume Caleb’s collar wasn’t real or that he was just mocking religion. However, he spoke too much scripture for it to be, in my opinion. His hatred of women was so strong that it could’ve been either an abusive mother, a father that tortured his beautiful sister, or something like I wrote. As this is fanfiction, though, I can write whatever I want, so I hope you like it.

_*****Where We Left Off*****_

Clint ran outside when he heard the gunshots, and he saw a man take off running toward the fence line. However, he didn’t run after him as he heard Spike holler for him, so he ran toward the barn. His sister was clearly hurt as Spike held her in his arms.

“What happened?” Clint asked.

“Some demons came out of nowhere to attack us, and we took care of them. Then someone shot Little Bit in the back. It hit her lung,” Spike said as he tried to stop the blood.

Dawn tried to talk, but blood came out instead of words.

“This is bad,” Clint said as he grabbed her from Spike.

When Dawn’s blood hit the ground, though, it shimmered. 

“Bullocks,” Spike muttered as he noticed. “Her blood is doing something. I hope she’s not opening a portal to a hell dimension ‘cause she’s going to die if we don’t get help.”

Dawn, though, could only think of one thing.

_Buffy!_

As more blood fell, a doorway opened. Clint was stunned as he saw his other sister sitting at a table talking to Xander and Bucky. A young girl was with them in the Magic box. “Buffy!” he called out.

Buffy blinked. “Am I hallucinating or is my brother and sister in that doorway that just appeared out of nowhere?” she asked.

“Dawn is shot,” Clint said, stepping through the portal door that Dawn’s blood somehow had opened. Dawn was in his arms.

“What’s happening?” Xander asked. “How did this portal get here?”

“Spike, stay with my family and watch out for them,” Clint ordered. Spike nodded, staying on the other side of the portal.

“Buffy,” Dawn said weakly, her eyes going to her sister, who was wiping the blood off Dawn’s mouth with a tissue she’d grabbed off the table.

“It’s okay, Dawnie, I’m here,” Buffy said, as she wiped the blood off her face.

Clint laid her on the table. “Dawn, can you close the door?” he asked, pointing to the portal door.

“I don’t know,” she said, choking as more blood seemed to come out of her mouth. This was bad.

“Just think close the door or something,” Clint suggested, trying to push the terror of her possible death at of his mind by focusing on the practical.

The portal door closed, and Dawn’s eyes closed.

“She’s passed out,” Clint said. He felt her pulse. “It’s bad, Buffy. We have to get her to a hospital.”

Loki came from the back and saw the slayer’s sister all bloody. “What’s happened?” he asked.

“Luke, can you do any healing magic?” Buffy asked. “She might be dead before we can get her to a hospital.”

“Is the bullet still inside?” Bucky asked.

“Yes,” Clint said.

Loki considered what to do as his human persona shouldn’t know that kind of magic, but he knew he couldn’t just let the girl die. Tara loved this teenager and spoke about her many times to Loki.

“We can call Willow and get her here,” Xander said as he pulled out his phone.

Loki didn’t want the witch there as she would know who he was instantly, so he said, “I might know a levitating spell that can remove the bullet.”

“Try it!” Buffy encouraged.

Just as Loki was pulling the bullet out with his magic, Willow and Tara appeared in the room holding hands. Both of their eyes were immediately on Dawn, who was clearly in a bad way.

“Is she alive?” Tara asked.

“Yes, Luke is healing her,” Buffy said.

Willow looked at the stranger, and she realized he was wearing a glamour. Hmmm. Why was he? “Who is Luke?” she asked.

“My employee. He’s a student working on his master’s and knows some magic,” Xander explained. “He’s from Europe—Switzerland or Norway. I forget.”

“There,” Luke said, grabbing the floating bullet.

Willow put her hand over Dawn’s stomach and sent healing magic into the injury. Very shortly, Dawn opened her eyes.

“Dawn, how do you feel?” Buffy asked, helping her sit up.

“I feel much better,” Dawn said. She looked at Willow and Tara. “It’s so great to see all of you.”

They all took turns hugging her, and Buffy introduced everyone to Savannah, her new foster daughter.

Willow, though, kept looking at the other newcomer. “Tell me who your warlock is,” she said. There was something off about the man, and Willow didn’t like not knowing what it was.

“I already did,” Xander said. “He works here at the store with Wesley. Luke is his name.”

“I don’t think so,” Willow said.

Cordelia came into the shop. “Hey, guys,” she said. She saw more people than she expected and knew something had happened. “What’s going on?”

“Dawn got shot, and somehow her blood opened up a portal to here,” Clint asked.

“Luke took out the bullet,” Buffy said. “Then Willow healed her insides.”

“Wow. I miss all the good stuff,” Cordelia said.

“I was just trying to determine why you have a warlock that is wearing a glamour working with you,” Willow said.

“Willow, don’t,” Tara said, putting her hand on her girlfriend’s arm.

Loki sighed. “I guess no good deed goes unpunished,” he said. Then he let his mirage drop before the witch could do it for him—at least it was at his own volition.

“Loki!” Clint growled and pulled out his gun, pointing it at him.

Tara moved to stand in front of her friend. “There will be no shooting of Loki,” she said.

“Put the gun down,” Buffy said, glaring at her brother. “You know there’s a child present.”

“I mean no harm,” Loki said. “In fact, I have only helped you.”

“Why are you here?” Buffy asked, giving him a cold look.

“The All Father sent me to be of aid,” Loki said.

“Bullshit!” Clint said. “He would never do that.”

“Uh, actually, he’s telling the truth,” Xander said.

“How do you know that, Xander?” Buffy asked.

“Because he told me that his son would be here to help—I assumed it was Thor,” Xander said. “But now I’m thinking he didn’t mean Thor.”

“No, he didn’t,” Loki said. “I could not be here without his permission.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Tara said.

“You knew?” Willow asked, giving her lover a betrayed look.

“Of course, she knew. She’s my friend,” Loki said with a haughty look.

“I knew, and I knew everyone would be upset,” Tara said. “He just wanted to be close in case I needed him or anyone here on the hellmouth—and he has been needed.”

“That is true,” Loki said. “I have been quite helpful.”

“This is insane,” Buffy said. “You can’t trick us and then be expected to be close to us.”

Cordelia was trying to catch up, and once she figured out what was going on, she moved to stand in front of Loki. The man she had been dating was a mirage—wasn’t it her luck?

She pulled back her hand and slapped him hard across the face. Glaring at him a long moment, she left without speaking.

“Are you okay?” Tara asked Loki.

“I am fine,” he said, rubbing his cheek. “She is very angry.”

“Can you blame her?” Xander said, glaring. “You pretended to be someone you’re not and then asked her out. She’s not getting over that anytime soon.”

“I think you need to go,” Buffy said.

“I’ll go with you,” Tara said. She looked at Willow. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Loki saw Cordelia was in her car about to pull away from the curb across the street and moved quickly to intercept her. She laid on the horn, glaring at him through the windshield.

“Please, Cordelia,” he said. He glanced at Tara, who’d followed him out.

Tara walked over to Cordelia’s driver side, and she knocked on the window. Cordelia kept glaring, but she lowered the window.

“I have nothing to say to that royal ass,” she said.

“I understand,” Tara said. “Maybe, though, you can let him apologize.” She stepped away to give them some privacy.

“Please,” Loki said, moving to the open window. “I meant only to have you get to know me without any prejudice of my past mistakes. I was not trying to deceive you or hurt you.”

“You lied to me,” Cordelia said.

“Only about my name and reason for being here,” he said. “Everything else I said was true.”

“All those stories about your brother—you were talking about Thor?” Cordelia asked.

He smirked. “Well, yes,” he said. “He is my only brother.”

Cordelia snorted, not willing to show her amusement as she thought of some of the things he had shared about his and Thor’s childhood. As she actually knew his brother, it made the stories even funnier. “Okay, well, I’m not sure what you want me to say,” she said.

“Say that you do not hate me,” Loki said.

“Why did you do it?” she asked him.

“I wanted to keep you safe—hellmouths are dangerous places,” Loki admitted. “I hoped you could see the real me—the one who was not Thor’s adopted younger brother. The man who had not harmed your people in my mad quest for power. I just wanted to know you, and I also did not like being so far away from Tara.”

“Because she needs to be protected when her girlfriend is at least as powerful as you—if not more,” Cordelia said.

Loki tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Nevertheless, she is my only friend, and she means a great deal to me,” he said sincerely.

Cordelia knew that a man who cared about Tara couldn’t be all bad, but she didn’t know what he expected from her. “Look, I get it—somewhat, but I’m about to have a baby with a man I once loved greatly. He’s a very good man—the best really. I’m not really looking to meet someone in a romantic way at this time, but it was nice to go out with you or at least the you I thought you were.”

“That was me,” Loki insisted.

“We’ll see,” she said. “I got to go.” She rolled up the window and gave a little wave before backing out.

Tara was waiting in front of the shop when he turned back. “Are you okay?” she asked him.

He nodded. “It could have gone worse,” he said.

Tara gave him a hug. “I am very glad to see you,” she said.

Loki held her tightly, happy to be with her once again. Besides his mother, her knew her love for him would stay true no matter what.

Willow watched them from the storefront window, frowning.

Xander came up and stepped behind her. “I don’t get that,” he said. “Sweet Tara looks at him and doesn’t see a mass murdering psychopath—I thought she was smarter than that.”

“She is,” Willow said.

“So he must not be so bad,” Xander said. “Of course, trying to date my Cordy might get him a trip to the toolshed.”

Willow looked up at her oldest friend and grinned. “You think you can take the god of Mischief?” she asked in amusement.

“I will sic my new mystical wolf on him,” Xander said, patting his chest.

“Huh?” she said.

Xander lifted up his shirt to show his wolf tattoo, which succeeded in completely distracting her from her lover and Loki—just as Xander intended.

***** _Sunnydale*****_

A week had passed since Dawn was shot, and Giles was still getting reports from the Council of three more potentials killed. Five were arriving in Sunnydale today and five more were being sent to Buffy in Cleveland. By Christmas, Giles suspected there would be double that amount.

Faith came in with her brother and his teacher, Logan. “So what’s the 4-1-1, G?” she asked.

Giles gave her a disapproving look but knew comment on her nickname would only make her use it more. “You will need to be at the bus station at three to meet the potentials that are coming into town. There are five,” he said.

“How old are they?” Faith asked.

“Rona is sixteen from Chicago while Violet is also sixteen. The other girls are fourteen and fifteen,” Giles said. “One is from Russia and two from England.”

“So are they hot?” Faith’s brother asked with a grin.

“Excuse me?” Giles asked.

Faith elbowed him. “Hey, don’t go scaring the potentials,” she said. “If I die, they could be the next in line.”

John glared at her. “Don’t say that kind of shit,” he said. He didn’t like thinking of his sister dying as she was mostly larger than life. However, spending time at the hellmouth had hit home how dangerous her job really was, and he didn’t like it. Nor did he want to leave and return to school.

“Where are you housing them?” Logan asked.

“Well, I was thinking if your brother would move to Logan’s apartment, you could take three of them as one could take the sofa and the other two the bedroom. Then the other two could stay at Natasha’s,” Giles said.

“I will take the two American’s, and the other three can stat at Nat’s since she’s rarely here,” Faith said.

“Fine,” Giles said. “Give them a tour tonight but take it easy on them. They might need to go shopping for some essentials.”

“Why don’t we let Canada take them? She’s so much better at that kind of thing,” Faith said.

“Because they are your responsibility,” Giles said, giving her that look only a Watcher could. “You are the slayer—not Canada. It is you they will look to for examples on how to behave and what to do.”

“So be on your best behavior, sis,” John said, giving her a smirk. “I know it might actually kill you to do so.”

“It’s okay—I’ll just take my annoyance out on you,” Faith said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

“Buffy is gaining five also, so you can call her to complain,” Giles said.

“How is Dawn?” Faith asked.

“She is fine as Loki and Willow healed her,” Giles said. “It seems her blood does retain the ability to open portals. Willow went to Ohio with her and Clint to work with her on it.”

“Cool,” Faith said.

“You know that means she can go to my school for mutants,” John said.

“She’s not really a mutant, however,” Giles said.

John shrugged. “I don’t think that would matter to the professor as she’s a teenager with a power she has to learn to control,” he said.

“It is possible being around other children with gifts might make her feel less isolated,” Giles said.

“Well, I will mention it to B when I call her,” Faith said.

“When is Dr. Banner returning?” Giles said. Although he was still surprised at the relationship between the brilliant scientist and his slayer, he liked the man immensely, finding him presence soothing and always helpful.

“What are we going to do about this man-crush you got on my man?” Faith asked, giving him a teasing grin.

“I do not have a man crush,” Giles said as John snickered.

“Sure, you do,” Faith said. “He gets your Brit’s nerdy heart all a twitter ‘cause he knows a lot of big words like you do.”

Giles glared at her. “Why must you always be so inappropriate?” he asked.

“Because I love to get you all riled up,” Faith said, grinning. “I think it’s cute how you two get along like a house on fire.”

Giles gave her a long-suffering smile and looked at Logan, who was trying not to laugh. Faith was good at baiting the male gender, and her watcher was not an exception. 

“You are incorrigible,” he said.

“Yep,” Faith said. “To answer your question, Bruce is coming back tomorrow. He had to go break the news to Tony that he’s breaking up with him. Since Tony announced his engagement, he’s being more needy than normal, demanding that his best man stay in New York. Bruce told him to make Rhodey or Happy his best man, which cause Tony to give him all the reasons why it had to be him.”

“I can’t believe you guys know Iron Man,” John said, shaking his head.

“I met him,” Logan said. “He’s not so impressive.”

“He’s a billionaire,” John said. “Think of all the things you could do with his money—and he knows how to make the coolest things.”

“He’d get nowhere with Magneto,” Logan said with a smug smile.

“Oh, you mean like how you do?” John reminded him.

“Magneto is the guy who can move metal with his mind, right?” Faith asked.

John nodded. “He believes that it’s only a matter of time before the world turns on all mutants, and he’s willing to fight to keep mutants from being enslaved by the government—he went through Hitler’s reign in Germany,” John shared.

“It sounds like you admire this man,” Giles remarked.

John shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I do think he’s not wrong about how people respond to us,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time.”

“He doesn’t care who he hurts,” Logan growled. “He would kill anyone who isn’t mutant. Do you want to follow a guy that doesn’t care about the collateral damage? He uses his mutants for his own gain. Professor Xavier does what he does simply because he cares, and he can.”

“Yea, yea, I know. I’m drinking the X-Men kool-aid, aren’t I?” John said, giving his teacher a disgruntled look.

“Logan, I did actually get a call from your head of school,” Giles said. “He will be sending school work for John to do, so he can keep up with his studies.”

“Great,” John said, frowning. 

“And you will do every bit of it,” Faith told him, giving him a firm look. “Between Giles and Bruce, you have will have all the brains you need to for help.”

“I can’t believe you got a guy with a doctorate to be your boyfriend,” John said. “Logan seems more your type.”

“Well, Logan is hot as hell, but he waited too long to make his move,” Faith said, giving the teacher a wink. “Bruce is actually two guys in one, so no one can compete.”

“Don’t even get me started on how disturbing it is that you like the Hulk!” John said, shuddering.

“What can I say? I like a challenge,” she said, smirking.

As always, Giles ignored her sexual talk and focused on the rest. “Actually, John, Dr. Banner has seven doctorates,” Giles said. “He is the only one of my acquaintance to be so well-educated. Six of his degrees are in science and math, but of them is actually in philosophy. He is the most fascinating of men.”

“I don’t know what he’s doing with you,” John teased. When he saw the flash of pain in his sister’s eyes, however, he immediately regretted his comment. “I was joking. You’re amazing, and he’s lucky to have a girl as hot as you.”

“You know looks fade,” Faith said, a hollow look on her face. “I’m going to go stock up on groceries to feed the girls. Later.”

She left without waiting for the guys, and Logan glared at John. “You should really think before opening that mouth of yours,” he said. “Your sister risks her life daily to keep this hellmouth in check. Opposites attract.”

“I know. It was a joke,” John said, feeling bad. He knew that his sister’s bravado wasn’t always as real as she made out. 

“She knows that,” Giles said. “However, I am sure it bothers her that she is not nowhere near Dr. Banner’s intellectual equal. But no one is, so it should not bother her that much. There aren’t that many women in his field anyway, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any woman on the planet that could meet him on all the fields—he even has a medical degree.”

“She isn’t wrong about your man-crush,” John said with a smirk.

Giles rolled his eyes, refusing to answer his ridiculous claim.

****** _Chapter End*****_

_Well, I know it’s been too long since I’ve updated this story and others. I’ve fallen off the wagon, and I’ve been reading, not writing at all lately. I started this chapter weeks ago. Don’t think I’m not interested in my active stories or plan on abandoning any of them. It’s not the case. I’ve just not felt like writing as I’ve been sucked into stories OTHER people have written! Kudos and comments are always very appreciated. Thanks for reading!_

**Author's Note:**

> This story is not completely written. I've gotten a few chapters. I don't know that it will be 10 chapters long. It could be longer or shorter. The more interest I receive in it, the more inspired I get to write.


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